Friends, I’m tempted to just copy in the text of the official press release that’s going out on Monday, but I worked it out with the other parties involved, and we agreed that a message like this would be the most appropriate way to address this situation.

On Feb. 17, I was approached by a person whose name you probably know but who has asked to not be referred to by name until the official announcement is made. This person runs a management company that happens to include some beloved-by-us idols, and they had noticed over a period of several months the frequency at which those idols came up here and the level of response to them in the international fan community, on this site and elsewhere.

The proposition was a simple one: Our intent is to build “a bridge across the ocean” and start semi-regular activities in North America and Europe for existing groups, and launch domestic units within the next two years after sufficient market research has been conducted; we want you, Homicidol Maniac, to be a leader of this effort.

I have a great deal of respect for all of the people involved in this. While we have not always had an easy relationship, we have always had a workable one, and, having spent the past six weeks learning more about the particular people in management and among the talent, I can say that these are deeply serious, intelligent, talented people who are going to be doing incredible things in the world of music for the foreseeable future. I feel a little badly for having thrown some shade their way, but business is business and I got them to understand the different outlook of the average Westerner.

It will, therefore, be an honor to join their team. Specifically, I’ll be working in multimedia creative in everything from concept to marketing, and likely contributing English-language assistance in forming strategic partnerships with other companies.

What does that mean for Homicidols.com? I’m glad you asked. For me to continue the site as it currently is would, all parties agree, constitute a conflict of interest that would breach the terms of the employment contract I signed last week, and I would need to divest myself of any interest in the site and its activities.

To further that effort, I contacted some people who I’ve known for several years, people with whom I’ve done creative projects in the past. A few literal games of telephone ensued until I was speaking with a senior vice president of web and digital at an enormous international media company; after some cordial negotiations, we agreed that I would sell Homicidols.com, along with all associated brand elements and social accounts, for a price that you definitely won’t believe, so I won’t be publicizing it. AND MY LAWYER’S GETTING A BIG CHUNK SO IT BARELY MATTERS! #bitter (But hey, Kerrie’s finally going to get paid, so that’s nice.)

Suffice it to say that the company, which again will be made known when the press release goes out, is making a significant investment as a gamble that this idol thing will, in fact, take off in North America. I’m not completely sure, but I believe that there are relationships between the company, William Morris Agency and Sony, so the interest in seeing if other idols can approach Babymetal’s level of success is apparent.

So Homicidols.com isn’t going away. In fact, in the coming months, it will probably get a significant facelift. There will definitely be new writers (a friend that you all know well has alluded with all the subtlety of a Code Orange breakdown that she’s been invited to contribute). There will be new and more and better content than anything that I ever did.

There will be a transition, and this is important because it matters to me: Though my time as owner and primary everything is over in a hot minute, I will still be periodically contributing pieces. The Corenament will be resolved (by me). A few community games that I was in the process of designing will probably still happen down the road.

And between now and when the new creative team officially takes over, I asked that a person who I trust more than anybody to be a caretaker for this dumb place be permitted to step in as lead. So, beginning tomorrow, Kerrie will be the new editor/writer/joker/asshat for Homicidols.com, and the creative team assigned by corporate will step in gradually over the next couple of weeks.

Kerrie, as you know, has a wicked sense of humor and a great handle on idol. It helps that she digs pretty much everything that gets kicked around on here, but we’ve been sharing resources back and forth over the past couple of weeks just to get her up to speed. She’s bright and clever, and I have all the confidence in the world that the version of Homicidols.com that steps into existence tomorrow morning will be very much like what I tried to build — with the added bonus that Kerrie can actually Japanese, so there’ll most definitely be fewer dumbass errors.

You’ve all been great supporters of this project — from clicking to look at something new to commenting to sending me hate mail to sharing tips — and I’m going to miss that level of involvement in the community, but the bright side is that I get to engage from a new angle now, and actually make money off of a big, bold step forward for idols who definitely deserve it.

Treat the Weeaboo Witch well, and treat my website well. And wish me luck!